The Aspen Institute released the findings of its National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development (SEAD) today with recommendations on translating knowledge about how people learn into practice, and helping students develop skills such as collaboration, empathy, and perseverance through systemic changes in education.

At its quarterly meeting held in New York City on December 6, 2018, Carnegie Corporation of New York's board of trustees approved 37 grants totaling $33,062,000. Brief descriptions of each board-approved grant are provided below.

Learning Heroes today released Parents 2018: Going Beyond Good Grades, a new report focusing on why nine out of 10 parents—regardless of race, income, education levels—believe their children perform at or above grade level in reading and in math, when national data shows barely a third of students perform at grade level. Much of the disconnect is blamed on perceptions about the role of report cards.

The 'I Love My Librarian Award' marked its tenth anniversary on December 4, 2018 with the announcement of 10 public servants whose work exemplifies the invaluable role that librarians play within their communities, schools and campuses.

Bellwether Education Partners launched partnerships with agencies at different levels of government to help them develop plans to create a more integrated set of services for the young people they serve.

As a tribute to individual contributions in science, medicine, humanities, arts, and mathematics, King’s College London presented seven distinguished individuals with honorary doctorates during a special ceremony on October 24 at the London Campus.

Carnegie Corporation of New York and the entire family of Carnegie institutions in the United States and Europe offer our condolences to members of the Tree of Life Congregation. Our founder, Andrew Carnegie, was devoted to Pittsburgh and had a deep respect for its citizens. Today, we stand in solidarity with the city in condemning the barbaric shooting that claimed the lives of eleven faithful members of your congregation.

The importance of well-designed family, school, and community engagement (FSCE) in supporting children’s learning from cradle to career is well documented by a growing body of research. Beyond the research, it is reasonable, and some would say commonsensical, to conclude that parents, as their child’s first and primary teacher, offer the most expertise on their child.

There’s no shortage of evidence that America’s public schools aren’t working as well as they should for all American families. Beyond the shamefully persistent gaps in educational opportunity and achievement that divide students of different races and more- and less-privileged backgrounds, there’s the fact that, despite plenty of advantages, American kids are not keeping up with their international peers in general.

I was born and raised in Ventura County, California, to a mother who was a strawberry picker and a father who was a lemon picker. Money was tight, and my parents spent their time working in the fields to support our family. They were not able to attend school meetings, support me with my homework, or communicate with my teachers. Sadly, I dropped out of middle school and my parents didn’t know until graduation, when they wondered why I wasn’t excited about dressing up.

At TalkingPoints, we’re unlocking the untapped potential of human connections between educators and families in making a difference for students’ learning outcomes and in empowering families, especially for the most vulnerable and marginalized populations in our communities.

Education transformation efforts will only be successful when families and community members are deeply involved in naming the challenges children face and creating solutions that work for their own unique communities. But families can’t play that critical role unless they know whether their children are on track to achieve their goals.